The Earth Kingdom's Avatar
by Proudturtlecrab
Summary: June Sun is the daughter of the Earth King and heir to throne. She will be the first Earth Queen. Not only does she have to worry about running the almighty Earth Kingdom, but she also has to learn the other three elements and keep peace between the nations because she is the new Avatar. Join her and her friends as June faces challenges of responsibility, romance and friendship.
1. Chapter 1: Realization

_Just a quick note!: I do/ maybe will refer to people and places from the LoK but the time is not of the LoK's.. Think of this as maybe 35 years after the 100 Year War._

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**Chapter One: Realization**

Looking into the elegant mirror in front of her, June saw her reflection staring back. Her long mahogany hair was draped to the side and lay in a big braid over her right shoulder. People in the Northern and Southern Water tribes called this braid a herring bone braid. Many servants in the Earth Kingdom palace hailed from either the Fire Nation or the Water Tribes, in an attempt to keep the separate nations friends. Still, there were not many Air Nomads left after the genocide, so the current nomads remain on Air Temple Island. Being of a docile nature, no one has to worry about problems with the nomads anyway. They were a very kind and peace- loving people. After the Hundred Year War, the last thing Fire Lord Zuko and the late Avatar Aang wanted was another uprising between nations.

The stories of their travels were very intriguing. They had met so many different kinds of people! June loved to read their stories. She had no trouble at all finding the books in the Earth Kingdom royal library. The designs and architecture of the library were inspired by Wan Shi Tong's library that was lost in the Si Wong Desert. Tall spires shot upward to the ceiling, which curved to form a huge dome. Intricate designs made the ceiling look full. There were many floors which were all connected by spiral staircases. All of the bookcases were so sky high that Knowledge Seekers were brought in to scale the cases if someone was in search of a book at the very top.

June tied her bandana around her head, being careful not to mess up her hair. Her mother disliked that bandana because it was not very formal looking even though the mark of the royal Sun family was sewn onto the very front of it. To June, the bandana symbolized her underlying desire to be of the middle class. Its relaxed look gave a sense of normality to June but the crest still reminded her of her heritage.

Her heritage.

Her responsibility. Even though June is the younger of the two Sun sisters, she was heir to her father's throne as Earth King, or Queen in this case. Her older sister, Jan, refused the position. Being a mother of three and happily married, Jan had decided she did not want to attract any more attention to her family than it already owned. Back when the 47th Earth King ruled, this would not be acceptable but together, Avatar Aang and Fire Lord Zuko created a list of rules that would protect the people's rights and respect their wishes. The laws were called the "Respect Laws."

On the dresser, a note from Earth King Sun, June's father, rested peacefully next to a Southern Water Tribe hairbrush, given to June by a late servant. The note read:

_My dearest daughter,_

_ It is your eighteenth birthday today. To celebrate, I wish for you to dine with your mother and me in the main dining hall. We will have dishes from all four nations. It will be marvelous. This is not only a special day because you are now of inheriting age. Your mother and I have a most joyous surprise for you. I expect for you to wear the robes hanging in your closet. Your mother and I look forward to dinner._

_ All our love,_

_ Earth King Sun and Lady Linn_

Opening her closet, June laid her eyes upon the robes her father had mentioned in the note. A tight waist caused for the rest of the layers of the dress to fall in a cascading style. It was the most beautiful dress June had ever seen. The top layers were a dark emerald green and the under layers got lighter as you went. The dress was sleeveless, which was very uncommon in formal gowns.

June slipped into it effortlessly, as she was very used to dressing formally, much to her dismay. She sauntered back over to her dresser where she sat at the vanity to apply her makeup. Brown eyeliner framed her jade colored eyes and did a good job of making her very few freckles stand out. She coated her lips in her favorite lychee berry lip gloss. Of course, the lip gloss was not made from the lychee berries you would find in the woods of the Earth Kingdom. The lychee berries used to make this lip gloss, which was extremely popular among royal daughters of all nations, was found on Hibiscus Island in the Fire Nation. The island was named for its remarkable assortment of flowers, primarily hibiscuses, It was formed by an overload of sand deposit but the "Dragon of the West" decided to mark it as a sign of the Fire Nation's newly revived, loving nature. The island is an indication of peace and harmony in the nation.

"Miss June!" A servant popped her head in the door. "It is time to meet your mother and father for dinner!" The servant grabbed June by her hand and dragged her down the hall.

"Let go of my hand, servant. I will walk to the main dining hall, at a _normal_ pace. Would you please go and tell my father that I will be there in a short amount of time."

"Y-yes, my lady. I'm sorry, my lady." With not even a second to spare, the servant was at the end of the hall and turning the corner. June did not like to be so bossy to the servants, they were there to help after all, but she found that being bossy was the only way to get them to stop and listen.

Figuring she should start making her way to the main dining hall, June started walking. She ran her fingers over the designs on the wall. Tons of little Earth Kingdom symbols made a home on the wall. The cold marble floors that rubbed against her feet caused her to shiver. There were shoes in her closet and they were beautiful but they were high heeled. High heels gave June the creeps. She supposed her mother put them in there.

June had finally made it to the main dining hall and Basca, her father's giant bear, ran up to her, licking her wildly.

"Ah June! You've made it" The Earth King sat high and proud in his seat.

"June, why aren't you wearing the shoes I put in your closet?" Lady Linn always appreciated fashion, unlike June.

"Mother, I'm an _earthbender_. I need my feet to the floor, not high enough as to where I can pick flying hog-monkeys out of trees."

"Oh, come now. You're being dramatic, sweetheart."

"June. Sit down in your chair. We have a realization for you." The Earth King waved away two servants who had been standing by the door.

"Realization?"

"You are not only an earthbender, my sweet. You are the avatar."

"I'm the _WHAT?_" June felt her face flush. The avatar? The _avatar_? The monarchs most certainly went over the duties of being the avatar to June but she didn't hear a word of it. She did not know how to feel. She was excited: not only could she bend earth but she could bend fire, water, and air! The Water Tribes had always interested her and she always admired the intenseness of the Fire Nation. And learning air bending would be wonderful! But, on the other hand, she would someday soon have to run the entire Earth Kingdom, by herself. How could she do that if she was busy trying to keep peace between the nations?

What if people started to only like her because of her noble status? Because she was the avatar? June wanted people to like her for _her_. Her entire life was changing.

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**A/N: **

OK! So yes, this was the first chapter! I hoped you liked it! Shoot me a review!

Rock on little turtle- crabs! \m/


	2. Chapter 2: Friends

**Chapter Two: Friends**

"June! I heard the news! You're the avatar! That's amazing! Can you like, go into the Avatar State yet? What about the Spirit World! Oh, the Spirit World! Did you know you can't go to the bathroom in the Spirit World? I think I read that in Avatar Aang's journeys. Yeah! I remember! Sokka got caught by Heibai and Heibai brought him to th-"

"Kun! Slow down! I think you're more excited than I am," June said.

"Haha! Yeah, I guess you're right." Kun put his hand up to his head and ran his fingers through his mane of brown locks. It jutted out in all directions and some even fell forward, resting on his forehead. He let out a nervous laugh. June couldn't help but realize how beautiful his Earth Kingdom eyes were. They were a dark green color with specks of brown dancing around in his irises.

Kun was the eldest of the four children of the second richest family in the Earth Kingdom. His ancestors never were of high nobility but his father had made his money by setting up tons of little food shops of contrasting nations in each nation. There were: fire, earth and air kiosks in the Southern and Northern tribes. Earth, water, and air kiosks in the Fire Nation. And there were fire, water, and air kiosks in the Earth Kingdom.

The sudden family nobility is the reason for such a relaxed look. The two youngest girls looked exactly like Kun because they got the Earth Kingdom descent, like Kun, from their father while the eldest sister got the Fire Nation descent from their mother. Kun's sister was very beautiful but it must be hard to stand out.

"June, what's wrong?" Kun had realized the worry in June's eyes. He walked over to take a seat next to her on her bed.

"It's just that I don't want people to think of me differently, you know? I want to be loved for being me, not because I'm the avatar or Earth Queen."

Kun reached into June's lap and grabbed her hand. "Look at me June," he said. "You're a beautiful person and people will be attracted to you just for that, not because you're the avatar or Earth Queen. They'll want to figure you out before they even have a chance to find out about everything else."

Kun and June had been best friends since they were four years old. Their mothers went to the same boarding school and stayed close and as a result, their kids were close.

"Thanks Kun. You know, you're my best friend. Let's not ever let that change." June truly felt comfortable with Kun. She could talk to him about anything.

"No problemo, flammeo! And of course, we'll always stay close. Pinky promise?"

June wrapped her pinky around Kun's and they both smiled at each other.

"As the avatar, I have to take a tour of the nations.. wana join me?" Being the avatar was not going to stop June from talking to Kun. They had talked every day.

"Would I ever! Of course! I'm sure my parents won't mind." Kun was practically jumping up and down now. "Thank youuuuuu!" Kun leaned forward and kissed June on the cheek. The different nations fascinated Kun and June knew that, just like she knew that his favorite animals were turtle- ducks and that he always wore bottomless shoes so his feet would be closer to the ground. Kun was an earthbender too.

Kun, not able to contain his excitement any longer, ran out of June's room yelling something about an adventure. Kun was silly most of the time but June supposed he was right: this was going to be an adventure.

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**A/N: **

Nothing to really say here.. hope you enjoyed! ;D Shoot me a review!

Rock on little turtle- crabs! \m/


	3. Chapter 3: Air Temple Island

_**Chapter Three: Air Temple Island**_

With Kun by her side, June took her first ride on a sky bison. It was an exhilarating feeling! They were up so high! The wind blew June's hair out of place. Suddenly, she felt a breeze on top of her head and realized her bandana had been blown off. She looked over the rim of the bison's saddle and saw her bandana flying in the wind.

"Excuse me, Monk, but we have to land. My bandana fell." As she was saying this, she was also pointing with her fingers to explain the situation to the monk that was flying the bison, just in case he couldn't hear her.

Kun, who was enjoying the thrill, sat up angrily when he realized the bison had landed. "Why've we stopped? We aren't at the island yet!"

"Oh Kun, stop being so prissy! I dropped my bandana so we had to stop."

"Oh fine, but when we go back up, put your bandana in a ba- Ahhhhhhh!"

June and the monk whirled around to see what Kun was screaming about and noticed a girl wearing air nomad clothes and holding June's bandana.

"Hi!" The girl introduced herself. "My name is Aria! I'm an air nomad! My people already know about all the avatar stuff so they sent me out to meet you. I'll be your air bending teacher, Miss June."

"Well, nice to meet you! You can just call me June. This is Kun."

"Hello Kun! I'm sorry if I scared you before."

"Haha! No hard feelings," Kun laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head.

Aria had long, ebony colored hair with bangs that were parted on her left side. Her face was bare of makeup, revealing her natural beauty. Her light gray eyes were framed by an abundance of long and dark eyelashes.

"Shall we depart?" Aria asked with a smile. June didn't know someone could have so many pearly white teeth. Aria returned June's bandana, they all mounted the bison, and flew off.

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**A/N:**

This chapter was a little short and I was _very _disappointed with it.. But I needed to fit Aria in there somewhere..

Shoot me a review!

Rock on little turtle- crabs! \m/


	4. Chapter 4: The Fire Nation

**Chapter Four: The Fire Nation**

June stood behind a podium that made her look like she was engulfed in flames. Kun stood to her left.

"My people, as your new avatar, I will do all in my power to provide peace among the four nations. This world has been done harm by the Hundred Year War and it is our job to restore it, together." Millions of faces stared back at her. Little girls in the crowd emulated her. All eyes were on her and, strangely, she didn't mind it.

Once the speech was over, Kun playfully nudged June's arm and mouthed the words "you did great." June knew she had.

As June was coming down from the podium, Aria flew up to her on her air scooter. A young man, who looked to be about nineteen, followed Aria.

"June! This is my friend Riu! He's a firebender. I think you'll like him," Aria said with a wink.

Riu stepped forward and the first thing June noticed was his auburn colored eyes. His dark hair was very curly but not curly enough to be an afro. Tall and muscular, Riu stood about a head taller than June.

"Hello, Avatar," Riu took a hold of June's hand and bent her wrist upward, exposing her knuckles. As he dipped down, he placed his warm lips to her hand. "Excuse me, but I must say that you are gorgeous."

June felt her face blush. Kun, who had been standing behind the young avatar felt a pang of jealousy course through his veins.

"Tell me, have you found a firebending teacher yet?" Riu smiled a smile that you would expect to find on royalty.

"No, I haven't actually," June batted her eyelashes.

"Well, miss, I'd love to teach yo-"

"June, I think it's time we head back to the palace," placing his hand around June's waist, Kun began to lead her away.

Riu jogged to catch up with them. He draped a hand over June's shoulder. "Sooo, Avatar, would you like me to teach you? If it's okay with your boyfriend over there."

Embarassed, Kun and June both said in unison "We're not a couple!" Normally, Kun would have separated himself from June in this kind of situation, but not this time. This time he pulled her even closer to him and out of Riu's hold. Riu gave Kun a bad feeling.. or maybe it was just jealousy.

"I'd love for you to teach me, Riu." The jealousy pang Kun had felt before suddenly struck again but this time around, ten- fold.

"Awesome. Would you like to meet me later? The Fire Days Festival is in town," Riu looked intently into June's eyes. How could she refuse?

"Yeah, sure! Come to the front steps of the palace around seven and I'll meet you there."

"Flammeo," Riu shot Kun a look that asked watcha-guna-do-about-it?

"Come on, June." Kun, with his hand still around June's waist, turned and led her away. When he looked back, he saw Riu turn to start walking towards Aria. With a flick of his finger, a small section of earth rose from the ground and caused Riu to stumble before catching himself on the staircase of the stage. "Serves him right," Kun muttered under his breath.

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**A/N: **

What do you guys think of Riu? Don't worry, details will surface soon!

I tried to make Kun a little protective over his best buddy.. did I do a good job? :P

Shoot me a review!

Rock on little turtle- crabs! \m/


	5. Chapter 5: Face Off

**Chapter 5: Face- Off**

"You're going to have so much fun with Riu tonight!" Aria perched herself on the table in June's room. "I can just feel it!"

"I hope you're right. I'm actually kind of nervous," June admitted.

"No need! Riu is very kind and knowing him, he's probably nervous too, believe it or not."

"Help me pick my outfit, Aria. Riu will be here in an hour."

"Surely!" Aria glided to June's closet and sorted through the clothes. "Pick a nation, any nation! You have all sorts of clothes in here, from all of the nations."

"Earth Kingdom clothes, please. I'm feeling kind of homesick," June sarcastically rubbed her stomach and the girls giggled.

"You have many pretty Earth Kingdom clothes."

"Perks of being royalty, if you appreciate fashion."

"Wear this!" Aria pulled out June's favorite outfit: a jade colored tunic that matched her eyes, with lighter designs of flowers starting from the bottom left of the shirt that spiraled upward and a pair of tan colored, lightweight pants. The tunic was sleeveless and the cut around where the sleeves would be and neckline were a gold color. Classical Earth Kingdom hues. Of course, June's outfit would not be complete without her bandana.

June slipped into slipped into the shirt and pants. Because it was made of silk, the outfit fell perfectly and complimented the natural curves of June's body. She tied the ties that started at her neck and bulged out as they neared her bust.

"What are you doing? You're going on a date, not a council meeting!" Aria untied the tie closest to June's neck, exposing her chest. Aria handed June a string necklace with an Earth Kingdom coin strung onto it. "For good luck," she said.

June tied a gold colored belt around her waist in a simple knot. She didn't want to look like she was trying too hard. Sitting down in the amber chair at her vanity, June began to line her eyes with eyeliner. In the mirror, she caught a glimpse of Aria. She was sitting on June's bed with a sweet smile, exposing her white teeth. June thought maybe she would try being a vegetarian: Aria's smile was gorgeous; her diet must have had _something _to do with it.

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On her way down to the front steps, June came across a candle sitting on a table in one of the main hallways. Curiosity overcame her: could she bend the flame? June dropped into a deep earthbender horseback stance. Stances this deep didn't even bother her well trained muscles anymore; it was actually sometimes more comfortable to her than standing straight up was.

She cleared her mind. Focusing on the flame, and only on the flame, June slowly inhaled through her nose and watched the flame dwindle. As she gradually exhaled out of her mouth, the flame grew taller. The sounds of a clap echoed through the hall.

"Excellent," Riu exclaimed, "but that deep earthbender stance is not necessary. Modern firebending stances are a little more nimble and, if I may say so myself, more comfortable," he smiled. "Where did you learn that?"

"Well I didn't _learn _it," June explained. "My father has a friend named Lee and I watched him do that once . . . of course I never tried doing it because I figured I couldn't."

"Ah, so you're a quick learner. Teaching you won't be difficult." Riu took a step closer to June. "You look beautiful tonight, by the way" he said as he backed June up against the wall. His hands fell around June's hips and he pulled her into him. Slowly, he leaned down to June's face. He looked her in the eyes. His lips were not even a centimeter away from hers!

"Ahem," Kun cleared his throat. "Don't overstep your boundaries, firebender," Kun warned. The tone of his voice made it obvious that he was not only jealous, but also serious. No one would take advantage of June if Kun could help it.

Quickly, Riu pressed his lips against the corner of June's before straightening up to face Kun. June couldn't decide if Riu meant to kiss just the corner of her lips or if he just missed the target. The tingly feeling in her stomach didn't subside, even now when Riu was a foot away from her.

"Kun, hi," June uttered.

"Hey," he answered. "Can I talk to you," he shifted his eyes to Riu, "in private?" Kun didn't even wait for her answer before walking past Riu and grabbing June's hand. He pulled her into a side room.

June looked around and realized this room must be the equivalent of the library in the Earth King's palace even though it was much smaller.

"Are you okay?" Kun asked. "He didn't do anything else, did he?"

"Kun, I don't want to be rude. I know you're only looking out for me but you don't have to speak for me. I'm a big girl."

"But he was going to kiss you! Kiss you, June! You met the guy this morning!" Kun's voice grew louder. He did not want June to make a bad decision. He also, subliminally, intervened because of envy.

"Maybe I _wanted _him to kiss me! Did you ever think of that?" June's voice was at a high enough level to rival Kun's now. She saw hurt flash across Kun's face and immediately felt guilty. With that, she turned and left the library. Kun followed.

"C'mon Riu." June grabbed Riu's hand and started to walk but was held back because Riu wouldn't budge. For someone who wasn't an earthbender, Riu had a pretty strong stance. June turned to see what stopped Riu and saw that he was staring at Kun, dead in the eye. She looked at Kun and saw that he was staring straight back, unwavering. She yanked harder on Riu's arm and they were on their way.

The firebender turned and childishly stuck his tongue out at the earthbender.

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**A/N: **

****More to come! Shoot me a review!

Rock on little turtle- crabs! \m/


	6. Chapter 6: The Fire Days Festival

**Chapter Six: The Fire Days Festival**

Masks were _everywhere_. Some had scary faces and some had happy faces. All of the masks represented either people or spirits. There were masks of war heroes; Avatar Aang, Katara, Sokka, Hakoda, Bato, Fire Lord Zuko, Toph Beifong, General Iroh, and even the Kyoshi warriors. June even saw a mask of a young man who's name she recalled to be Jet. He had been the leader of the Freedom Fighters: a group of kids and teenagers who had sworn to fight for freedom against the Fire Nation during the Hundred Year War. Jet reminded June of Kun with the hair and all. Her expression saddened as she remembered reading that Jet had been killed by the Dai Li before the war had ended.

She saw masks to represent spirits: Koh, the face stealer, Wan Shi Tong, the knowledge spirit, Heibai, the spirit of the forest. The occasional mask of Princess Yue appeared too. She had sacrificed her life after the moon spirit, Tui, was killed during the Siege of the North. Because Tui and La had given up their immortality to be a part of the mortal world, they could easily be killed so there were always Northern Water Tribe warriors standing guard at the Spirit Oasis at the North Pole. If La were to be killed, all waterbenders would be doomed.

Little kids ran around with colorful sparklers pretending to be firebenders. This was the same festival Aang, Katara, and Sokka had gone to a long time ago when they were young, younger than June, in fact. June remembered that shortly after the fair, the gaang had met Jong Jong and he was Aang's first firebending teacher. Aang's anxiousness had gotten the better of him, though, and he burnt Katara. Shortly after, the gaang was chased out of the little village where Jong Jong and his men lived by Admiral Zhao. After burning Katara, Aang had vowed to never firebend again until Fire Lord Zuko joined the good guys and taught him. Quite a wonderful friendship was formed; they made the world the brilliant place it is today.

"So, what do you want to do first? We could go get some fire flakes, if you want." Riu flashed his royalty smile.

"Flammeo," June said with a smile. She hoped she didn't seem stupid saying "flammeo." In the fire nation, it meant 'cool' or 'awesome.' Maybe Earth Kingdom royalty saying "flammeo" sounded silly.

The two walked through the festival, Riu waving "hi" to some people he knew, who returned the greeting with a lift of their eyebrows. There was no doubt that they were referring to June. Riu would just wave his hand at them as if to say "stop it."

They arrived at the fire flakes stand and ordered two bags. Once the flakes were ready, they both found a bench outside the mini zoo the festival had set up. They had a huge assortment of animals; rabaroos, ostrich- horses, flying lemurs and even a sky bison. Because the bench June and Riu had originally picked smelt too much like manure, they relocated to a little pond. Turtle- ducks swam around playfully.

Turtle- ducks.

June thought of Kun. She wondered what he was doing right now. Was he ever going to forgive her for acting like the prissy royalty type of brat? She hoped so. She didn't want to lose Kun. She was dragged back to reality when she realized Riu was asking her a question.

"- like it so far?" He stared at her, waiting for an answer.

"I'm sorry?" She asked.

"I asked how you like being the avatar." His auburn eyes were set underneath a pair of dark and full eyebrows. Little freckles were specked across his cheekbones and nose. _"Why do Fire Nation boys have to be so hot?"_ June thought to herself. She followed Riu's distinct jaw line up to the side of his face. She saw he was wearing a fire nation emblem earring on his left ear. His lips were a perfect pink color and they seemed to be getting closer and closer. _Why?_ June realized that she was leaning forward to Riu as she examined his handsome face, which she noticed was a little too tanned for a Fire Nation citizen. He sat there, unmoving, satisfied with June's interest in him. Earth Kingdom citizens weren't the only ones who could have great pride. As a matter of fact, Fire Nation citizens take pride and honor quite seriously too, but nowadays, they aren't obsessed with it like their ancestors were.

Figuring she should probably answer Riu's question, she snapped out of her trance and said with a smile, "I'm adjusting."

"Good, good. Hey, I'm sorry if I seemed pushy back at the palace. It just dawned on me that you might have been a little uncomfortable. I'm really not that kind of guy."

"Well you seemed like that kind of guy when you stared Kun down.

Riu moved in close to June. He whispered in her ear, "To be honest, I only acted that way because I have a crush on you."

"Oh." June sighed. The dreamiest looking guy just admitted to her that he likes her! Why wasn't she excited? She just let the subject drop. "So tell me about your life."

"Uhh, okay." Riu slid away from June. "Well, I was born in the Southern Water Tribe. My mother is from the South Pole but I take after my father. He's firenation and a bender."

"So that's why your skin is lightly tanned," June stated.

"Yes. Uhmm, I'm an only child. My mother died when I was young so my father and I lived in the Earth Kingdom to experience different things. When my aunt had her baby, we moved to the Fire Nation. As you can tell, I'm very world- oriented. After about a year, I got bored of the Fire Nation so I started to travel on my own when I was sixteen. That's when I met Aria. We bumped into each other in an Earth Kingdom forest. She told me she was on her way back to Air Temple Island after meeting with a guru to help her achieve enlightenment, which is probably the reason she's so high- spirited. At that time she was only thirteen but still acted so mature. I found it incredible. She offered me a temporary home at Air Temple Island during my travels. I stayed with the nomads for about a year. Let me tell you, they have some flammeo games but they're impossible to win if you aren't an airbender." He laughed and stretched out his legs. "Aria and I had grown real close. Unfortunately, a couple of months after my eighteenth birthday, I received a letter from my Aunt Leiah. She told me that my father had died from a heart attack. I then returned to the Fire Nation to be with my family. Eventually, I was granted emancipation and began my travels once again. Staying in the Fire Nation for long periods of time reminded me of my father and became too painful. Aria and I had kept in touch by messenger hawk. There was _never _a dull moment in _any_ of her letters. I was in Omashu when she sent word to me that she would be traveling with the Avatar to teach her airbending. She_ ordered _me to pack up my things and make my way to the Fire Nation to hear your speech, so I did. She mentioned that you had not yet found a firebending teacher and being an exceptionally accomplished firebender, I jumped at the chance to share my knowledge. The fact that I could be teaching the Avatar had me chomping at the bit to meet you."

"Wow, you've had a life that I could only hope to live, minus the deaths. I'm sorry about your parents by the way."

"It's alright. If there's one thing I learned from the nomads, it's that you can't change the unchangeable so instead, you have to accept it. Make peace with it and move on. You can't let past defeats interfere with your future accomplishments."

"Very true," June marveled. "Did you learn that from the nomads too?"

"Nah," Riu said. "The Fire Nation taught me that. When I was living in the Fire Nation after my mother passed, I got involved in modernized Agni Kai tournaments to sharpen up my bending. In the modernized tournaments, you don't fight to the death. They're more like point matches in karate. Anyways, my teacher was _very_ in to winning. He taught me all he knows. I even know how to redirect lightening."

June's eyes lit up. She had heard that redirecting lightening took time to learn. Fire Lord Zuko made a point of saying in the book that chronicled Team Avatar's journeys that lightening redirection was very challenging for him. He had stood on top of a mountain screaming at the angry clouds of terrible storm, begging them to send some lightening his way. He's lucky it hadn't. He would have been shot dead by the bolt once the energy stopped flowing through his body and clotted around his heart.

"That's so cool!" June exclaimed.

The two realized that when they were talking it got exceptionally dark. June stifled a yawn.

"Are you tired?" Riu asked as he tried to rub the tired from his eyes. "I guess it is getting kind of late." He stood up and tossed his last pieces of fire flakes to the turtle- ducks, who quacked happily. "Let's get going." Riu stretched out his arm and held out his hand for June to grab onto while she stood up. She took his hand and he pulled her up, harder than June had expected. She stumbled and tripped over a rock. Riu rushed to catch her but tripped over a piece of earth that June had bended to give herself the push she would need to do an aerial so she would land right side up instead of face down. He fell on the ground laughing.

"I'm sorry!" She apologized. Turning around to help Riu, June tripped over the same section of earth she had just raised, forgetting she had done so. She landed on top of Riu. They lay there for a while, laughing. Their eyes connected and they both felt a surge of passion run throughout their bodies. Unable to control the urge, but not wanting to scare June, Riu quickly pecked her cheek and helped her up. He held on to her hand, praying that she wouldn't let go; she didn't. The two took their time walking back to the palace, enjoying each other's company.

* * *

**A/N: **

****How'd ya like it! Shoot me a review!

Rock on little turtle- crabs! \m/


	7. Chapter 7: The Northern Water Tribe

**Chapter Seven: The Northern Water Tribe**

June had made her Avatar speech in the Northern Water Tribe and was enjoying a nice dinner with the royal family. Kun sat on her right, Riu on her left and on Riu's left sat Aria.

"Sir, this food is amazing!" Aria was enjoying the Water Tribe food so much that she had asked the waiter for extra to take on the journey.

"I'm glad you like it." Chief Arnook bowed his head with a smile. His long white hair was tied up in a warrior's wolf tail.

To his right sat his daughter, Sama. Sama was the most beautiful young lady out of the Northern and Southern Water Tribes. She wore an off the shoulder dress made of silk that reached to the middle of her thighs. It was longer on the left side than it was on the right. Underneath the dress, she wore a pair of white shorts. Brown boots that reached up to her ankles kept her feet warm. The fringe swayed back and forth with the slightest movement.

A pair of cerulean eyes surrounded by long and curly dark eyelashes sat just above high cheekbones. Soft, pink lips completed the look of a flawless face. She was definitely Northern Water Tribe royalty. Lengthy chocolate colored hair reached the small of Sama's back. A braid rested on her hairline with a blue silk ribbon woven into it. Polished fish bones gauged her ears. Everything about Sama was stunning. She could rival June in looks and that gave June kind of a sour feeling.

Surprisingly, she was not wearing a betrothal necklace. Usually by the age of sixteen, Water Tribe royalty would already be getting married. Sama was seventeen. Maybe the Respect Laws had something to do with that.

Team Avatar finished up their dinner in the main dining hall and was afterwards sent to their rooms. Aria and June bunked together in one room while Kun and Riu bunked together in the room across the hall.

Riu and June had made plans to explore the Northern Water Tribe. There was so much to see: The Healer's Tent, Kun's father's kiosk, even the Spirit Oasis. June, being the Avatar and all, was allowed to be wherever she could make a connection with the Spirit World if she wanted to be. Aria had taught her ways of meditation and it was actually quite relaxing. Your entire body was at peace during meditation: your breathing was even and calm and your spirit wandered past your physical being, allowing you to see the world without the influence of society.

Riu and June met at the front steps of the Northern Water Tribe royal palace. Riu wore his authentic Water Tribe tunic that his mother made for his father before she passed away and when his father passed away, Riu got it along with all of his father's other things.

"How are you, beautiful? Full from dinner?" Riu lightly kissed June on the cheek. He pulled back and smiled his royalty smile, even though royalty blood did not flow through his veins.

"I sure did. Water Tribe knows how to eat!" June playfully patted her full belly. June had to admit that in the beginning she hadn't really liked Riu's flirtatious attitude but it had grown on her. She thought about how nice it would be to have someone to always make you feel special..

The two walked, hand in hand, down the high steps of the Northern Water Tribe Palace. They admired the buildings made of snow. Frosty scents filled their noses and the full moon hung graciously above them, illuminating the everlasting ocean.

* * *

**A/N:**

I plan to stay in the Northern Water Tribe for a little while longer!

Shoot me a review!

Rock on little turtle- crabs! \m/


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